Once Upon A Midnight Dreary
by xXEmiShaeXx
Summary: So yeah, I totally set myself up for humiliation when I picked out my pajamas. But in my defense, I didn't know that I'd be transported to the past by crawling through a hole in my closet wall. Yeah. Because that doesn't sound crazy at all. My life...
1. NewFriends?

**A/n: Hello all! I just want to say that the Newsboys do not (unfortunately) come into the story until chapter two! So don't think that this has nothing to do with newsies! **

***Disclaimer*: I DO NOT OWN NEWSIES, BUT I DO OWN MILITIA AND RANSOM…BUT THAT'S ALL! NOW…ENJOY!!!!!!**

_**Once Upon A Midnight Dreary…**_

**Chapter One: **

**New...Friends...? **

My name: Militia Conlon. What friends call me: Metal. What enemies call me: Smiley. Yeah, I have a weird name. I can trace my family back to the 1600's. We all have very strange names. I even have a great-great-grandma named Orianna. What kind of name is Orianna? So my little brothers name: Slip. My parents had been going through some kind of 1800's stage. My older sister's name: Goditha. Okay, I'd much rather have the name Orianna. My dad's name: Pouge. What the heck?! I know. And my mom…Drum roll please: Whitney. Yes, you read right. W-H-I-T-N-E-Y. So, Pouge, Militia, Slip, Goditha and…Whitney. She sounded so out of place, in my family of misfits.

Now on to my nicknames. So, they call me Metal because I like heavy metal music. Always head banging. I'm Metal Militia. My enemies call me Smiley because it doesn't matter if I'm mad at you I'm always smiling. Smiles all the way man. The only bad thing about that is if someone made me mad and I'm still smiling at them, they tend to make me even angrier, because they don't know how to shut up. So the second part of my Smiley explanation is; I will walk up to you, and it doesn't matter what you did, I will smile and then punch your lights out. I was given the nickname Smiley on January 4, 1994. That day my arch nemesis Jacquelyn, or Jackie, pushed my last button by stealing my last peanut butter girl scouts cookie. You don't want to steal my cookies. Naturally I gave her a bloody lip. Even now she calls me Smiley. It sorta stuck. I have awesome friends, all misfits like myself. My life was…Not perfect. Whose is? But it was fine. I'm a junior in high school. It was in the middle of the year when my family uprooted all of their children and decided to move to New York. I was forced to trade Sunnyside California, for gloomy, smog-induced Brooklyn New York. Lovely. In fact we were forced on a plane just a couple of days ago. We just arrived. Last night I spent my first night in my new home. Stupid, great-aunt-whatever-her-name-was, that left this stupid building/house for us. To try and make up for it my parents gave me the biggest room. It was huge. I am not exaggerating. My room could probably fit several bunk beds. It just so happened to be the coldest room too. Great. I rubbed my eyes and forced myself awake fully.

"MILITIA IRIS CONLON! GET YOUR SORRY BUTT DOWN HERE THIS MINUTE AND SHOVE SOME FOOD DOWN YOUR THROAT! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE ON THE FIRST DAY!!!" I heard my mother scream at me. I moaned.

"I'M COMING!" I yelled back at her. Stupid morning. Came too dang early. I jumped out of bed and pulled a rumpled shirt over my head, along with gray skinny jeans, and black converse high-tops. The people at this new school would have to accept me as I am. Because I don't care what they think…Well that and even if I wanted to I, didn't have enough time to make myself prettier. I ran the long length of my room to the bathroom. I was out of breath when I reached it. The room was REALLY big. The bathroom was set up for several people, like a school bathroom sort of. There were lots of sinks. There were no mirrors. Not one. That's what drove me crazy. I need mirrors. I had a small mirror hanging up on the far wall. It was a hand held mirror, but it would do for now.

I ran to the mirror with a tooth brush in my mouth while tugging my brush through my vivid white blonde hair. That was the only feature I had gotten from my mother. She was tall and slim, with hazel colored eyes, and white blonde hair. I looked more like my dad. Acted more like him too. I had long waist length white blonde hair, stormy grayish-blue eyes (that on some occasions looked silver.) I was very short for my age, and small. Delicate looking. I hated it. My personality and my looks contrasted drastically. Yes I smiled a lot. But, if you made me REALLY mad, I'd glare at you. My mom says that my glare would scare the devil away. I think she's right. I spat tooth paste into the sink, chucked my hair brush onto a near by table, and bolted out the door, down the stairs and to the refrigerator. Ah, chocolate. Thank you world's finest candy bars. Thank you. I munched on my candy bar as I ran out of the house and down the street. My school was close enough so that I could walk to it. I arrived just before the bell rang. I slouched into my seat, and held my head down. No need to seek unnecessary attention.

"HEY WE HAVE A NEW GIRL!" I heard someone shout. So much for going by unnoticed. I glanced up to see, twenty or so kids staring back at me, just then the teacher walked in, saving me from the Inquisition.

"Good morning class!" A rosy looking older lady said cheerily. Her eyes zeroed in on me. I slid down lower in my seat, hoping that if I made myself small enough I could just disappear. "And who do we have here?" She asked smiling in my direction. I sighed and straightened up in my chair. I smiled back at her. Hey, they don't call me Smiley for nothing.

"Militia Conlon." I muttered to the class. One of the students raised their eyebrow at me.

"Ya mean likes as in, a city's govahnment militia?" A girl with dirty blonde hair asked.

"Yep." I said popping the P in that word. She looked at me skeptically.

"Do ya have a nickname?" She asked with a slight Brooklyn accent in her voice. I almost laughed.

"Sure." I said mysteriously. She waited a couple of seconds.

"Well…Awr ya gonna tell me it?" She asked sarcastically.

I leaned forward in my chair. "It depends on what you are to me. Are you a friend or an enemy?" I asked smirking at her. She pursed her lips for a second and shrugged. The other pupils were now talking among themselves, I obviously wasn't _that _interesting.

"Friend." She nodded confidently and stuck out her hand. I nodded slightly and grasped her hand in mine, "You do have a weird name. I'm Ransom Higgins." She said sending a perfect white smile my way. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Good. Then you can choose. Usually my friends just call me Metal. But sometimes they call me Smiley." I smiled at her. She shot me a quizzical glance. "Because whenever I get pissed off, I smile. My motto is: Fight now ask questions later. I'll punch someone's lights out with a smile on my face." I explained nodding again.

"Cool." Ransom Higgins smiled. I grinned back at her.

"Ms. Higgins, and Ms. Conlon, if you're done talking we could get started on class this morning." The teacher said looking at us sternly.

"Yes Mrs. Applebaum; we're finished. Sawry." Ransom apologized. Mrs. Applebaum's eyes softened.

"Very well. Now class I'd like to discuss Edgar Allen Poe's _The Raven…" _I didn't get to hear the rest of what she was saying because someone patted me on the back. _Patted me on the back! _Did they have a death wish? Seriously, did they? I twisted around in my seat, and came face-to-face with a brown curly haired girl, with chocolate brown eyes. I gave her a WTF look. She smiled and then looked away. I shrugged and turned back around.

"Could you answer my question Ms. Meyers?" Mrs. Applebaum asked firmly. The girl behind me gulped.

"Uh, could you repeat the question?" She asked her voice sounded like a little girls.

"I asked, 'What do you think the poem is about?'" She repeated. The girl swallowed again.

"Uhhhh, a…Bird?" Her voice rose a little on the last word making it a question.

The teacher frowned. "On the surface but, what was Poe trying to get across?" Mrs. Applebaum asked. I glanced around, no one raised their hand. "Ms. Conlon, do you know what it's about?" She asked hopeful. I chewed o my lip.

"Well, he talks about a woman, named Lenore, in a lot of it. So I'm guessing that he lost this Lenore and he was in love with her, and now he's hurting, and he's sorta trapped in his own mind, going in circles like a crazy person. Because he talks about the bird never leaving, so I think the Raven represents his grief and sadness." I muttered nodding to myself. Mrs. Applebaum's eyes were bright.

"Yes! Thank you Ms. Conlon! Take notes class; she nailed it in the bud!" She laughed happily. My eye twitched because once again all eyes were on me. I slid down further in my seat. "Okay class, we'll be working in groups today: Ms. Conlon, Ms. Higgins and…Both Ms. Meyers and Ms. Delancy will be working in one group…" I stopped paying attention after that. What kind of last name is Delancy? It sounded uppity…

"Oh, and Ms. Delancy, would you be so kind as to show Ms. Conlon the ropes?" Mrs. Applebaum asked.

A cutesy little girls voice sounded from behind me, "Of, course I will Mrs. Applebaum! You know how I love showing around new people!" Ms. Delancy said. Mrs. Applebaum nodded, but there was something off about the girls' voice. It held just the faintest smidge of sarcasm. To my left Ransom groaned. I turned to her raising an eyebrow in question. She shook her head and mouthed, 'Later.' I nodded. Then chairs were pulled up around my desk and the girl who was behind me nodded in my direction and then looked away quickly. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Then the girl with the weird last name sat down, and beamed a smile my way. It seemed fake.

"Hi! My name's Octavia Delancy! What's yours?!" She asked with a lot of peppiness. It was forced. I could tell. I blinked.

"Conlon…Militia Conlon." I mumbled. Hey, I give myself points for just responding to her. I mean, she was wearing a tank top, a skirt, barrettes, and dangling earrings, all of which were a lavender color. When Mrs. Applebaum nodded her head in approval, and walked over to another group Octavia turned back to me with a completely different expression on her face. It was malevolent. Whoa. Who flipped the switch?

"What kind of a name is Militia?" She sneered. I raised an eyebrow. I could say the same thing… "Okay listen, I run this school. And believe me, you want to be on my good side. If you push too many buttons I could ruin you. I could destroy you. But, I don't want to have to. I'd rather have you on my side." Her expression said otherwise. I started to smile. She was trying to order me around. I was a Conlon, no one ordered me around. It just wasn't…Natural. "So, anyways, if you stay out of my way, there wouldn't be a reason to destroy you. Okay?" All of a sudden the sweetness was back. She was switching moods so fast she was giving me whiplash. I glanced over at Ransom who was glaring at Octavia. I understood. This girl was a bully. She beat down the weak. I pursed my lips.

"Don't trust her. She's a bitch." Ransom muttered.

"_Excuse me?!?!" _Octavia growled. A fake innocent expression appeared on Ransoms face.

The Meyers' girl looked shocked. I had to press my lips together more firmly to keep from laughing. I knew by then my face was red.

"Oh, I'm _sooo_ sorry Octavia!" She cried. Octavia looked taken aback.

"That's more like it." She muttered nodding.

A smirk settled on Ransom's face, "I forgot _backstabbing. _Again, _sooo sorry your Highness." _Ransom laughed. I restrained myself.

Octavia's face got red, and she turned to me, "What is your decision?" She growled, obviously so not amused by Ransom's little joke. I sure was. That should already tell you something right there.

I very carefully shook my head at her. Her eyes narrowed, "Very well then, Melody? Would you do the honors?" She asked the Meyer's girl. She looked around nervously, and was about to shake her head when she was kicked in the knee, and thus with a high-pitched yelp she pulled something, a string maybe? And with that, I felt something go splat on my head. It was wet. It ran down my face, and was the color of blood. It was only paint though. I closed my eyes, and pursed my lips. She was going to die. But not today. All of the class erupted in laughter, and my eyes snapped open as I stood up.

I bowed and then curtsied, "Thank you, thank you very much!" I said giving my best Elvis Presley impersonation, and doing one of his dance moves. The room went silent. Then applause surrounded me, as I smirked. Didn't work out quite how you wanted it to huh, Octavia? I thought as I saw her face. The look she gave me was priceless. I took mental pictures.

"Settle down!" Mrs. Applebaum admonished.

Ransom grasped my arm, "How did you not try to punch her lights out?!?!" She asked in awe.

I smirked, "It's all about the way you spin it!" I winked at her, "No matter how bad, or humiliating a situation is, it just depends on how you look at it!" She nodded in understanding. I smiled.

This was going to be a start to a beautiful friendship.

I could tell.

--

**A/n: Oh my gosh you guys!!!!!!!!! This is like the fifth story I'm writing? I dunno, I just had this brilliant idea, to have our favorite newsboys, descendents sent to the past, where they fall in love…But you'll have to keep reading to find out!!! I don't know when I'm updating next, but it might not be for awhile. But, who knows, if I get a few reviews, I just might type faster! R&R!!! **

**~ XOXO EmiShae**


	2. Who the heck is Spot Conlon?

**Chapter Two: **

**Who the heck is Spot Conlon? **

**Militia's POV**

The rest of the week was quite uneventful. Besides getting bitchy glares from Octavia and her inner circle. I also found out that Octavia had a sister. An older sister. Her name? Mandy. I kid you not, that's her name. I'm seriously wondering what their parents were on when they named them. She was like Octavia times two. Bitchier, but also blonder. Octavia was short with shoulder length chestnut colored hair, brown almost black eyes, and had sharp very distinct features. She was pretty in her own evil little way. It didn't cease to amaze me how many guys went for total bitches. Mandy was a blond bombshell. You know, like one of those models you see on T.V.? She had long waist length honey gold hair, big chocolate brown eyes a heart shaped face, full red lips, and fat in all the right places. She was tan and had legs a mile long. Why did she and Octavia not look alike? Because, apparently, Octavia looked like her dad and Mandy looked like her mother with her fathers eyes. She wasn't all there in her head if you know what I mean. I had a feeling that Octavia was the leader, and evil mastermind. I bet Mandy was just a follower. It made me sad to see the weak following the evil. Which was also what I saw in that Melody girl. I sighed.

But, going on. I also met another girl named Dallas Jacobs. She was small with dark brown hair and hazel colored eyes. She was nice but, she stated the obvious a lot, and was a bookworm. She hated the Delancy's as much as Ransom and I. Which was why we were here now. We were sitting on my bed in my huge room trying to think of something to do. It was midnight and raining. Which meant no sneaking out for us teenage girls. Nothing came to mind. Ransom got up and walked over to my too-big closet. She started to throw my clothes out.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously as I strode over to her. She chucked some more of my clothes out of my closet. They landed near my bed. "I'm so not cleaning this up!" I grumbled as she went on. She kept going through it, but stopped suddenly.

"Hey! Metal, do ya know ya have a little door heah?" She called her voice muffled by all of my clothes. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?" I asked as I came up beside her. She moved aside and pointed to what she was talking about. Sure enough there was a small crawl space in the back of my closet. "Where the hell did that come from?" I muttered while getting down on my hands and knees, and crawling up to it.

Ransom gave me a look, "Ya didn't know this was heah?" She asked while raising an eyebrow. I shook my head, and reached for the doorknob. I turned it and…

"BOO!" Ransom screamed while poking me in the side. I jumped slightly. I turned to her and gave her my signature glare. She just smiled. My glare was not meant to make people smile. It was to induce fear. Ransom was brave. I rolled my eyes, and looked inside of the crawl space. There was a box. It was long, but narrow. It wasn't that heavy so I pulled it out with little effort.

"You guys found a box." Dallas said as I put it on my bed. I sighed. What did I say?

"No. We found a dead body." I rolled my eyes at her. She pursed her lips. I popped the top on the box and coughed as dust flew up to my face. Dallas wrinkled her nose.

"Gross." She muttered. I suppressed another eye roll. What a girl.

I started to go through the contents and came across an old newspaper. Strange. "Hey you guys look at this." I mumbled as I held it out for them to see. It was a picture of a group of guy's they had smiles from ear-to-ear, staring happily into the camera. The title said **NEWSBOYS STRIKE! **I examined it carefully.

"Hey! I remember learning something about that last year in history class! It was strange. You see these two big papers, The World, and The Journal, made the prices higher for the newsboys. And they decided to strike, and fought for their rights, and they won. It was actually quite interesting. Mostly because the person who owned The World was Joseph Pulitzer, and the man who owned The Journal was William Randolph Hurst. Do you recall Patty Hurst? She was his granddaughter. She was kidnapped by psychopaths, who threatened to kill her for a ransom from her family. Chose the right family too, the Hurst's were quite wealthy. But, in the end she fell in love with one of her captors, and ended up helping them with armed robbery, and tricked her family into thinking she was afraid. She was actually very witty." Dallas finished nodding her head. I would have never remembered any of that. Well, I guess it was good to have a walking history book isn't it?

"I remember this vaguely." Ransom muttered while squinting at the paper.

"That's mostly because you were asleep half the time." Dallas said shaking her head while sighing. Ransom smiled.

"Oh yeah! Now I remembah! That was the class where I had that dream about the guy that played Paul in Twilight." She sighed, and I could practically see her drooling.

I rolled my eyes, "Paul was an arrogant hot-head. Plus he wasn't even that built. Taylor Lautner was ten times hotter." I smiled at her.

Ransom narrowed her eyes she opened her mouth but Dallas cut her off, "Stupid mutts! I do not know how you can like them! You're both wrong by the way; I find that the actor who played Edward was quite attractive, and intelligent." She smiled at us. My eye twitched.

"Can't you talk like a normal person?" I asked. Dallas furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'll translate," Ransom said, "She means, 'OH MY GAWD! ROBERT PATTISON IS HOT ENOUGH TA FRY AN EGG ON!'" Ransom fake-squealed. I nodded.

"Well, yes, in a butchered form, yes, that is what I said." Dallas admitted. I sighed. There was no getting through to this girl.

I screwed my face up in an unattractive sorta way, "That's…EWWWW! He's like hairy and…Sickly looking." I shuddered in horror, "I was all, 'BARF' when he came on the screen with his shirt off. Once again. Gross." I muttered. Dallas actually glared at me. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

"I'm Team Edward! I'm with the Vampires of course!" Dallas said quoting the book. I rolled my eyes. Big deal.

"Yeah, and I'm team Jacob! Stupid bloodsuckahs!" Ransom said getting in Dallas' face. I foresaw disaster.

"And I'm team Winchester! Because Supernatural is awesome!" I said while smiling, "But anyways...Girls! Calm yourselves! Back to the actual subject! Newsboys! Remember?" I called stepping in between them. Dallas nodded as Ransom rolled her eyes and started digging through the box.

"Hey! Look at dese!" Ransom said holding up some brown pants with red suspenders attached to them, she also brought out a dark blue shirt. "Red suspendahs! These awr awesome!" Ransom exclaimed as this look came into her eyes. Suddenly she sprinted to my jumbo-sized restroom, and slammed the door shut. I raised an eyebrow but shrugged my shoulders. She was weird.

"Hey, um, Metal? You share a rather striking resemblance to this boy here." Dallas informed me while pointing to a boy in the photo. I looked at it…And leaned in closer. The photo was black and white. But, he undeniably looked like me. Wow. He was smirking at the camera (the same smirk that was like, identical to mine!) and was standing next to someone else. I furrowed my eyebrows, as my eyes grazed the rest of the boys…Hey! Wha…? "Oh my! And look at that boy! He looks like me!" Dallas exclaimed.

"Yeah." I muttered, "And that one looks like Ransom." I pointed to a boy with short hair and dark eyes that was short, but had the same features as my weird friend. "And that one looks like Jacquelyn." I said pointing to a boy with a mop of dark wavy hair sharp eyes, and a cowboy hat. "Oh, and that one looks like…Sam." I murmured. Samuel James was my best friend in California. I had pointed to a boy that was average sized, with really wavy dark hair that was sticking up in all kinds of places and a beaming smile. Then another boy caught my eye. (Talk about sounding like one of those girls that like, hunts guys like they're prey.) "Doesn't he look like that Melody girl?" I asked pointing to a boy with short dark curly hair, and dark eyes, that also was very…defined under his shirt. (When I say defined, I mean he was freaking built!)

"You're right. I wonder…This is all very strange. Why do we all look alike?" Dallas asked while furrowing her eyebrows. I shook my head as I heard my bathroom door slam again. I looked up in curiosity, and chuckled. Ransom had changed into the clothes. The pants were a bit long so she rolled them up, along with the sleeves of the dark blue shirt but those only went up to her elbows. She grinned as she trotted up to Dallas and me.

"So…What do ya think?" She asked while spinning around in a circle. "Pretty great huh?" She asked again while snapping the suspenders. She made a face, "Okay that always looked cool on T.V. In real life it just hoits." She said while shaking her head. I laughed.

"Do you know how unsanitary that is Ransom? We don't even know how long that's been sitting there! That could be covered in germs and gross stuff!" Dallas scolded her.

Ransom rolled her eyes, "Loosen up! Ya act like ya have a stick up ya butt half da time! Ya need ta relax!" She laughed at Dallas' facial expression. It was actually really funny. Her face was screwed up in distaste.

"Never mind that. It is of no concern of yours. Look at the picture." Dallas said while pointing out the boy that looked like Ransom. As Dallas told Ransom all that we had discovered while she was changing I continued going through the box. I pushed papers to the side and found three very odd objects. The first object I found was a string with a key on it. The key was one of those old fashioned ones, it was bronze color. I put it around my neck. The second object I found was a hat. But it wasn't just any old hat. It was like a cabbies hat. I stuck my long hair into it, and pulled it down over my eyes. The third object I found was a cane. It was strange really. It was about as long as my forearm, a faded black color, and had a faded gold tip. I smiled. I was going to keep it. Carved into the side of the cane was the initials S.C. Who was S.C.? I dug through the box some more. That was when I came across a big binder-like book. It was black and frayed at the ends. I blew the dust off of the surface and opened it up. Inside, written in sloppy handwriting, was 'Spot Conlon King of Brooklyn.' Who the heck is Spot Conlon? Maybe the guy that owned the cane and the key…And even the clothes that Ransom was wearing. Spot Conlon. Had the same last name as me. Maybe…Just maybe, he was one of my ancestors? That would be weird. I remembered the boy in the picture that looked so much like me. I took it out of Dallas' hands and, ignoring the scowl that she gave me, I looked at it again. If this was all Spot Conlon's stuff, then I'm guessing that the boy who looked like me in the picture was him. It's a good guess. I mean since he's a Conlon…He had the same smirk and everything. It was possible.

"…It would be fun! Right Metal?" Ransom said, interrupting my mental babble.

"Oh…Sure." I muttered. It was obvious that I hadn't been listening. Ransom didn't see that. She was too excited about…Well, about whatever she had said that I hadn't heard.

"Awesome! Let's go den!" Ransom exclaimed as she walked back into my closet.

"Wait. What's she doing?" I asked Dallas who was shaking her head in exasperation beside me.

"You didn't hear her?" Dallas asked. I shook my head. "She wants to go into that filthy crawl-space and as she so aptly puts it, 'explore da dark and dangeahous.'" Dallas said quoting Ransom with a fake Brooklyn accent. I raised my eyebrows at her. I opened my mouth to respond but Ransom beat me to it.

"C'mon ya guys! Come and explore da crawl-space with me!" She yelled at us. Dallas forced us to put on shoes. Something about viruses, and germs and crap. I wore my converse boot-shoes, which went up to just below my knee cap, and were black. Ransom tugged on her low top chucks that had random sayings on them. Dallas slipped into her light pink ballet flats. Once again; what a girl. I snatched the newspaper and brought it with me, along with the cane, and I brought my purse and shoved the newspaper into it. I rolled my eyes at Dallas for being so girly, and shoved her into my closet, ignoring her protests. Ransom went in first with Dallas in the middle, as I brought up the rear.

We crawled for several minutes. But I saw a beam of light ahead so I pushed Dallas to get there. It was starting to feel just a bit claustrophobic. Dallas complained the whole way. Suddenly there was light and we burst through the opening, into a bright sunny day. It was Brooklyn…I think. It was cobblestone roads and as I stood up I could see more. I glanced around in confusion. I took a step out into the street and was looking around when something nearly hit me. A carriage. A freaking carriage drawn by a freaking horse in the middle of a freaking cobblestone freaking street. What the heck?!

"Where da heck awr we?" Ransoms voice sounded from behind me. I turned around and shook my head slowly.

"Well! This is obviously a fabricated trick of our minds! And to think I was actually educating the both of you about Newsboys! Oh, well." Dallas said shrugging as she started to walk away.

"Whoa there Miss I-know-it-all-and-confuse-people-with-my-big-words, where are you going?" I asked while grabbing onto her arm.

"I'm going to explore in my dreams! Nothing permanent can happen in this realm!" She exclaimed as she attempted to walk away again.

"I'm pretty sure you're not dreaming." I mumbled while nodding my head. Ransom agreed.

"Well, it's neither logical nor possible that we are _here!" _She said obviously flustered.

"And where would 'here' be?" I asked her.

"Oh don't be daft! 'Here' is obviously 1899 Brooklyn New York! All of the evidence points to this! Think about it cobblestones streets, horse drawn carriages, and look at all of the people! They're dressed in turn of the century clothing!" Dallas exclaimed once again stating the obvious, only this time was different. This time she pointed something out that I hadn't noticed. 1899?

"Well, this jus' got a whole lots more intahrestin'." Ransom said while glancing around again.

She didn't know how right she was…

--

**Octavia's POV **

At this point there was no one that I hated more than Militia Conlon. Or Smiley as she told people to call her. Or at least people that didn't like her. And I sure didn't like her. But, neither did Mandy. Of course, Mandy hated anyone I hated. And Melody _pretended _to not like her, but I knew in truth that silently she encouraged her. At our school _I _was queen bitch. _I _was the leader. _I _was the 'It' girl. _I _was the poster child. _I _was the one that everyone loved. And no one was going to change that. Not even Smiley. Of course not all of the students liked me. But, I didn't care.

You don't have to like me.

But you _will _respect me.

As long as people feared me, who needed actual friends? I had Mandy. She was a bit dense at times, but she was my sister. She might _look _delicate but…If you piss her off, you'd better duck. Because she _will _rip you limb from limb. It was just the way she was.

My power over people was barely hanging on by a thread. People were standing up to me. Questioning my authority. Just the other day I told Betty Robinson to move and she said no. No! No one says 'no' to me. I'm Octavia Delia Delancy damn it! I run this school! People hear my name and cringe! I can destroy people! Which is what makes them fear me. Power is good. Power means that I'm in control. And I like being in control. A therapist once said to my mother, "Octavia's obsession with being in control of a situation implies that she was traumatized as a small child. It's unhealthy. Maybe if she kept coming to our sessions…But, you can't make her. She needs to be consistent for herself. For her own well being." Personally, I think it was just a load of crap. The lady belonged in a loony bin. I swear. I never did go back to her. I needed to find a way to restore my power. So I could be in control again. Day-by-day people were turning to Smiley. You couldn't provoke her. She never got embarrassed. Never. Since I couldn't force her into submission at school, I needed to do something else to stay on top.

Which was why Mandy, Melody, and I were outside of Smiley's house, hiding in the shadows. I heard laughter erupt from inside and I ducked down. The laughter stopped, and I very cautiously peeked into the window…Smiley was wearing a cabbies hat with a key around her neck, and holding a gold tipped cane. Ransom Higgins, who I hated almost as much as Smiley herself, was wearing odd clothing. A dark blue long-sleeved shirt that was rolled up to her elbows, with red suspenders, and long guy's pants that were slightly rolled up also. Then there was that Dallas girl. She was a nerd. A real meeker. She was pointing to something on a newspaper. Suddenly they were putting shoes on. Then they were crawling into Smiley's closet and then…They were gone. I narrowed my eyes.

"Melody!" I barked. The small girl jumped and looked at me, "Help me move this box over to the window." I ordered. She did as she was told. I stood on the box and stuck a knife in between the pane of the window and the metal. I pried it open. I shoved the window pane aside, and sliced through the window screen with the knife. I closed the knife, slipped it into my pocket, and climbed onto the dresser below the window. Mandy and Melody followed. I walked carefully over to the closet and gingerly took a step in…And another…And another…There were no yells. There was no one in the closet. That's weird. "Where'd they go?" I asked the empty air.

"Maybe they went through that." Melody said pointing to a square hole in the wall. I blinked and got down on my hands and knees. I crawled forward. We could corner them. But I didn't want to get kicked in the face or anything.

"You go first." I said to Melody as she gave me a wide eyed look. Baby. "Go." I gave her a little kick and with a yelp she got on her hands and knees and went in. Good. I gestured for Mandy to go, and she went happily. I went last and it felt like we crawled for awhile when suddenly we burst through an opening. It was bright and sunny. This wasn't right. It had been raining bullets when we had left. I glanced around. Cobblestone streets, horse drawn carriages, weird clothes like the ones Ransom had been wearing. What was this some kind of cult? I caught sight of the nerd herd. They were just standing there as if in shock. I suddenly got a bright idea. "Melody, go over there and be our spy." I told her.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Why do I have to be the spy?" She whined.

"Stop complaining, and just _go." _Mandy snapped as she shoved Melody in the general direction. Melody gulped. She ran off to go and do our biding. It was the least she could do; after all _I _had made her what she was today.

--

**Militia's POV **

Well, we needed to do something. We couldn't just stand there all day (which was weird because it was storming when we decided to crawl through the hole) in our pajamas. Well…Actually Ransom could. She looked more normal than Dallas and I. Though, I'm sure, since it was New York 1899, girls were suppose to wear dresses and not pants and T-shirts but…It was better than what I was wearing _that's _for sure. I was wearing an orange spaghetti-strapped tank top that had red polka dots on it, along with maroon colored short-shorts that had 'Punta Cana' across the butt. My dad had gotten them for me when he was on a business trip. **(A/n: I actually do have those kinds of shorts that my **_**dad **_**got me. I was all 'really?' =]) **And my converse boot-shoes. How very…Appropriate for 1899 right? But Dallas, unlike me, was wearing something completely modest. I'm serious. Nuns would be proud of her. Her p.j.'s was a cotton night gown. It was white, and went from her chin down to her ankles. And it was long sleeved. Her face and her hands was the only skin showing.

"Well if we are truly here in 1899 and not in our own time, which I highly doubt, what are we going to do?" She asked. She had a point.

"Well, let's try the crawl-space." I muttered while turning around. But the square hole was gone. What the…? "You're seeing what I'm seeing…Right? I'm not hallucinating?" I asked while rubbing my eyes. Ransom and Dallas shook their heads.

"Um…Militia? Dallas? Ransom?" I heard a little girls' voice sound from beside me. I turned to face it…It was Melody Meyers. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was messy, and she was dressed in black. Black clam-diggers, black T-shirt, black Coach flats. I examined her carefully. She fidgeted under my intense gaze…As she should. I actually felt really bad for her. She was probably bullied into doing things she didn't want to by Octavia and her sister all the time. It was obvious that Melody was insecure a lot. Octavia had taken advantage of that. And it made me mad. Melody Meyers was a very beautiful girl. Curly long chestnut colored hair, pretty hazel eyes, and she was athletic. I would have liked her; heck probably would have even been friends with her, if she wasn't in Octavia's inner circle that is.

"Melody? Melody Meyers? My, well, how did you get here?" Dallas asked in utter surprise. Melody fiddled with her hands.

"I-I dunno. I was asleep…And…Ended up here…" She whispered trailing off, "Then I saw you guys and well, here we are." She laughed nervously. I pursed my lips. I knew she was lying. That wasn't how she got her. Not at all. I had a feeling that Octavia somehow had a hand in this. "C-Can I come with you? I-I don't know anyone else." She said softly as if she were bracing herself for rejection. That was something Octavia would do. Well, I sure as hell wasn't Oct-freaking-tavia.

I nodded, "Of course Melody. It would be cruel of us to abandon you here." I said kindly as I shot her a we-are-going-to-talk-later look. She blinked as if in shock and nodded as a small smile appeared on her face.

"Wow. I don't think I've seen ya evah smile like that at school." Ransom said. Melody looked down. She was probably too scared to do anything like it at all. As that conversation went on I looked around.

"Papes! Get tadays papah heah! Only a penny!" I saw a boy in a cabbies hat shout out to the crowd. I could only see him from his neck up because he was standing behind a cart of some kind. I didn't get a good look at him because his back was to me. But the way he was dressed, and the way he was selling newspapers made me remember the boys on the newspaper I had found in the box in my closet…A Newsboy! He was a Newsboy! I smiled widely.

"Dallas! He's a Newsboy. Right?" I asked her drawing her attention to the shouting boy. She blinked.

"My word! A real Newsboy! In the flesh! This certainly should be educational." Dallas smiled. I nodded. Maybe he could help.

"Well, here's what we can do." I muttered while pointing to the boy I suspected to be Spot Conlon in the newspaper, "I think he's related to me. Maybe if we can find him he could help us." I said. "But first I'll have to talk to that boy over there, because I need to find out where this relative of mine is. Just wait here, okay?" I asked. They all nodded in agreement. I weaved in and out of the crowd making my way to the boy. Everyone stared. But I had been ready for the staring. I stood on the other side of the cart, the cane in my right hand, and my purse in my left.

"Get ya papah!" The boy shouted.

I pulled the cap lower over my eyes. "Excuse me." I murmured. The boy turned around and I stared at him in shock.

"Yeah?" He asked. I swallowed back the shock. He was the boy in the paper that looked like Ransom. I shook myself and lifted my eyes to meet his. This time he looked shocked.

"Wutcha doin' heah in 'Hattan Spot?" The boy asked. Spot…Spot Conlon maybe? I smirked. I really must've looked like him for this boy to mistake me as him.

"I don't know who Spot is but, I was wondering if you could help me?" I asked him while taking off the cabbies hat.

The boy looked even more shocked, "Ya ain't Spot!" He exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow, "No I'm not." I said suppressing the urge to roll my eyes. "Can you help me?" I repeated my question.

"It dupends on wut ya need help wit." He responded. Smart. Know what he's going to agree to. I pulled the newspaper out of my purse.

I laid it down on the cart, "I'm looking for this boy here. Do you happen to know where he is?" I asked him. He glanced down and looked quickly back up.

"Why do ya wanna know? And wheah did ya git dat frem?" He asked back. I sighed. He was going to be difficult.

"You can't answer questions with questions. I want to know because I have my reasons, and I got this from a city in…Chicago." I couldn't say California so…

"Wow, da strike spread dat far?" He asked in amazement. I nodded. He shrugged. "Dats Spot Conlon…Awr ya shoah ya wanna fiond 'im?" He asked. I nodded quickly. "Well, I know wheah he is." He admitted.

"Perfect." I walked around the cart ad stood in front of this boy. When he saw the rest of me his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.

"Boy was I'se wrong ta tink dat youse was Spot." He blinked at me. I almost laughed. I must be dressed less than the prostitutes in this time.

I stuck my hand out, "Conlon…Militia Conlon." I said to him. He raised his eyebrows.

He hesitantly took my hand in his, "Racetrack Higgins nice ta meet ya." He said. Racetrack? What a strange name. "Youse is a Conlon?" He asked. I nodded impatiently. "Dats why I'se tawt youse was Spot. Wut is he? Brudda? Cousin?" He looked me over more carefully now. His eyes zeroed in on the key around my neck and the cane in my right hand. "So's ya have a key n' a cane too." He nodded. I shrugged.

"So, where is he?" I asked Racetrack.

"Brooklyn."

"Wha…? I thought we were in Brooklyn! Where are we?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow, "Youse is in 'Hattan sweetheart." He said. I raised my eyebrow at the pet name 'sweetheart.' But I let it slip…Just this once. "Listen, I'se will take ya ta Spot." He offered. I chewed on my lower lip, and nodded once. I spun around.

I gestured for my little group to come forth. Racetracks eyes widened.

"Racetrack meet my friends, my friends meet Racetrack. He will be our tour guide on this lovely day in New York." I said calmly.

"Racetrack? How very…Peculiar." Dallas said while pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Racetrack leaned forward as if in shock, "Davey? Is dat youse?" He asked.

Dallas looked taken aback, "No, actually I'm not a boy at all. Dallas Jacobs, pleased to make your acquaintance." Dallas said while sticking out her hand. Racetrack blinked as he shook her hand slowly.

"Jacobs eh? Dats Davey's last name…" Racetrack muttered.

Melody stepped forward, "Hello." She said softly.

Racetrack's eyes looked like they would bug out of his skull, "Mush?" He asked.

Melody blinked nervously, "Is that how you say 'hello' here? Mush to you too?" She said with a little wave of her hand.

Racetrack laughed, "No, Mush is me friend! Youse looks like 'im." He smiled at her.

Melody managed a small smile, "Melody Meyers." She whispered.

Racetrack blinked again, "Youse have da same last name as 'im." He started muttering to himself.

Ransom stepped forwards, "Ransom…Ransom Higgins." She introduced herself.

"Hey! Youse looks familiah!" Racetrack blurted.

Ransom pressed her lips together to keep from laughing, "Yeah, look in da mirror." She said while rolling her eyes.

"Play nice Ransom." I reminded her as she did another eye roll. I gave her a look. "Promise." I insisted. Another roll of the eyes.

"Fione! Fione! I promise Metal! Ya happy now?" She asked while glaring at me. I nodded as I turned to Racetrack.

"Okay, we're ready. Lead us to Spot." I nodded to him. Racetrack nodded but looked troubled.

"Higgins…Higgins…Dats a populah last name. So's Meyeres, and Jacobs…Not Conlon so's much…" Racetrack muttered to himself as he started to lead us through Manhattan. When we were about half-way across the Brooklyn Bridge I got the feeling of being watched. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I glanced over my shoulder subtly. Two figures were tailing us. They looked like girls. I kept my attention focused on them. One of them tripped, and that was when I realized who they were. Octavia and Mandy. Damn. I stopped the rest of my little group with my arm suddenly, even Racetrack, and that was when two girls bounced off of us.

"Damn! My designer jeans!" I heard Mandy complain as I turned around with a smirk on my face.

I twirled the gold-tipped cane in my hand, "Well, well look at who we have here girls…" I said while trailing off. Melody looked frightened, but Ransom and even Dallas were smiling.

"Fancy meetin' you two heah." Ransom said while chuckling. At this point Octavia and Mandy were up and brushing themselves off.

"Well, isn't it the Delancy sisters? It is quite strange meeting you here I do admit." Dallas said while she looked at Melody. Really part of me knew that they weren't too far behind. I smirked at Octavia.

"Don't look so smug." She snapped at me. I had to suppress laughter.

"Ugh!" Mandy screeched. I raised an eyebrow at her. Her gaze zeroed in on me, "You totally like made us run into you on purpose, and made me break my nail! It was a French manicure! You are soo paying for that!" She said in outrage.

I raised my hands up in a nice friendly non-threatening way, "You were the ones tailing us, not the other way around." I said while a chuckle escaped from my lips. She glared even more fiercely at me. I smirked at her as she took a step forward. I have to admit, Mandy was bigger than me. She was at least a foot and a half taller than I was. She popped my personal bubble. I do not like my personal bubble being popped. I started to grin.

"Mandy, just a little friendly advice, if you want to see the light of another day, you'll take a step back right now." I said in a soft voice. She stood her ground and raised her fist as if she were going to hit me. I smiled wider, "Go ahead. Hit me. You know you want to," I purred as she hesitated. I tilted my head to the side so she could have a clear view of my jaw, "Right here. Hit me right here." I tapped the side of my chin. I was not going to throw the first punch. There was war in Mandy's eyes. She took a step back. "Thought so." I nodded at her and then, "Racetrack meet Octavia and Mandy Delancy, Octavia and Mandy meet Racetrack Higgins." I murmured the introductions. Racetrack looked like he was about to freak out. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Delancy's…Dis is all crazy! Does chu know dat?!" He asked looking at me as white as a ghost.

"You don't even know the half of it Racetrack. You really don't." I sighed as I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Get a new boyfriend already?" A voice sounded from behind me. I spun around. It had sounded like…

"SAMUEL MICHAEL JAMES!" I shouted at him as I ran over to where he was standing and flung myself in his arms. He laughed as he hugged me and spun me around in a circle.

"I've missed you too." He murmured in my ear. I smiled.

My smile disappeared, "How the heck did you get here?" I asked as he sat me back down on the ground.

He shook his head, "I don't know where 'here' is. As far as I know, I'm still asleep." He said while shrugging.

I heard someone snort from behind him. "Yeah still asleep." I heard her voice and paused in surprise as she stepped out into the open. She marched over to me with her hands on her hips. "Okay, let's skip over the 'cry, cry, hug, hug, oh, it's you!' crap. Yeah, I'm here, you're here. Where the hell is here, and how can I get home?" She asked.

I smiled, "I never thought I'd say it but…I've missed your bitchiness Jackie-girl!" I exclaimed as I stuck out my hand. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh please." She shook my hand, "Now, seriously how are we getting home Conlon?" She asked while glancing around. Jackie had long wavy mousy brown hair and sharp chocolate brown eyes. Sam had dark brown almost black eyes, and really wavy messy long pale-brownish hair.

I shrugged, "I dunno." I muttered. Jackie's eye twitched.

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" She screeched.

I sighed, "I'm working on it!" I exclaimed. Which reminded me… "Racetrack this is Sam James," I gestured towards Sam, "And Jacquelyn Kelly." I gestured towards Jackie. "Sam, Jackie, this is Racetrack Higgins." I was getting really tired of these stupid introductions…

Racetrack's mouth was hanging open.

Jackie smiled coyly, "I know I'm hot but…You'd better close your mouth before any flies decide to make a home." Jackie said with a huge smile on her face.

"I've also missed that about you…Comic relief when the tension is high." I smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Jack?! Skittery?!" Racetrack exclaimed out of the blue, and then went back to muttering to himself, "James, Kelly…Populah names…Dis is crazy…" He mumbled. Yeah, and he was telling me? Well I guess everyone was here. Great. A huge mess to sort out.

I could already feel the migraine coming on…

--

**A/n: Heyy =]!!!!! EmiShae here! Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile, but getting to internet is hard for me…Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers! And, have any of you seen Avatar? It's awesome! If you haven't you definitely should! Love for all!! R&R!!!! **

**~ XOXO EmiShae**


	3. We Finally Meet Spot Conlon

**Chapter Three: **

**We Finally Meet Spot Conlon **

**Militia's POV **

There were several things that I regretted in my life. My choice of night clothes was the biggest at the present moment. Because, well, when you're in 1899 New York, not to mention it being _Brooklyn, _people who walk by are not going to treat you the way you should be treated. Especially if you're a girl and you're wearing A) short-shorts, B) a spaghetti strapped tank top and C) converse boot-shoes, that looked totally bizarro in the present day and age. (The present day and age being the turn of the century...) Needless to say I stuck out like a sore thumb and received several stares. Some disgusted glances from 'proper' lades and some hungry glances from the 'gentlemen' that the said 'proper' ladies were holding onto.

So yeah, I totally set myself up for humiliation when I picked out my pajamas. But in my defense, I didn't know that I'd be transported to the past by crawling through a hole in my closets wall. Yeah. Because that doesn't sound crazy at all. I blew out a sigh as I rubbed my eyes.

"Who is she..."

"...wonder if she'll be cheap..."

"...disgrace to wear such little clothing..."

I was seriously getting tired of all of the random people on the street judging me. And I was ready to punch the next person, who even just looked at me funny, out. I opened my eyes, gritted my teeth, held my head high, and walked with pride and confidence radiating off of me in waves. Racetrack was in front of me, not seeming to notice the stares, and was still muttering to himself about last names. I was starting to wonder if he was off his rocker. He seemed fine when I met him...

"Ah, uh, wese is at da docks." Racetrack's voice sliced through my musings. "Dis is wheah Spot an' 'is boys oughta be. Just at da end 'a da dock dere." He pointed in the direction where I saw many people, boys I think though I was too far away to be sure, jumping into the freezing East River. They so wouldn't have been able to do that in my time. Why? Because the East River in New York is polluted and gross, that's why.

I turned to Racetrack, "Thanks. I mean it." I murmured and I did. Without him, we'd still be lost in Manhattan. I nodded to the group of people standing behind me, "You all stay here. I need some one-on-one time with my...Whatever-he-is-to-me." My friends nodded. Octavia and Mandy glared, and Melody didn't respond. Jeez. That girl needed to build up her self-esteem. I started to walk away when someone grabbed my arm.

"Wait. Spot an' 'is boys can be a little...rough at times. An' it wuldn't be good if youse wiolk'd up ta 'im yerself...Especially dressed like dat. An' I'd feel responsahble if youse got hoit. So I'se gunna come wit chu." He announced as he started to walk down the dock. I blinked a little bit in shock. Basically...He had just told me what to do. You do not tell a Conlon what to do. It can be very dangerous. We're natural born leaders you see. We're like the alphas in a pack. And when another alpha comes along and starts sniffing around...Let's just say that we can get really territorial. About anything. Even if it's stupid. If it had been any other boy I would have beaten him to a pulp. But...Racetrack seemed different somehow. I shrugged it off and made to follow him.

"That was amazing. That Racetrack dude totally told Metal off and she didn't kill him..." I heard Jackie stage-whisper to someone. I slowed down.

"Maybe she's in a good mood..." Sam mused. I rolled my eyes.

"Or maybe, she was exercising massive amounts of self-control, because she really needed this guy to get her and her friends home." I threw over my shoulder without turning around. I jogged to catch up to Racetrack. Once I reached him we walked on in companionable silence.

"So...What's this 'Spot Conlon' like?" I asked Racetrack. He stopped so suddenly that I walked right past him. I stopped when I realized that he wasn't following me. I glanced over my shoulder at him in confusion. He was staring at me like I was a Loony-toon come to life.

"Youse dun know 'im?" He asked with a shocked look on his face. I shook my head. "But...But youse have da same key as 'im...And da same cane..." He trailed off.

"Never met him. To be honest I didn't even know that he existed until I saw the paper." I admitted while shrugging. Racetrack's eye twitched.

"Ya means ya dun even know 'im an' youse is gunna jus' woilk up ta 'im an' talk ta 'im?" He exclaimed.

"Uh...Yeah." I muttered. He started to shake his head but froze when he glanced over my shoulder.

"Well I'se can't takes ya back now...Dey already noticed us." He frowned.

"They?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Spot's boys. If I'se toin around nows, he'll jus' send 'is boidies afta us." Racetrack scratched his head.

"I wasn't going to turn around anyway." I shrugged as I started off towards the end of the dock again. Racetrack scrambled to catch up.

"Youse an' Spot is really alike ya know?" He asked me. I raised an eyebrow at him in question. "Chu both woilk away witout lettin' people answah chu. Like youse is in chahge." He shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, he _is _a Conlon. That's the kind of stuff we're known for...Along with a super-sized ego, and a hot temper." I muttered as I glanced at him sideways. He looked amused.

He opened his mouth to respond when a different voice cut him off.

"Wut chu doin' in Brooklyn, Higgins?" I turned around to face the boy who had spoken to Racetrack.

"Enjoyin' da scenery." Racetrack replied, his voice wasn't exactly warm. Okay, it was downright cold.

"Of course. Da scenery." The boy nodded as his gaze flickered to me. He looked at me, his gaze raking my body. "Brooklyn's scenery is beaut'ful but..." He let out a low whistle, "Looks ta me like ya have even better scenery in 'Hattan Higgins." The boy said as his expression became predatory.

I had a feeling he was talking about me.

_What gave you that idea...? _My inner voice shot back sarcastically.

Sometimes I really hate you. Great. If someone peeked into my mind right now they'd think I was crazy. Because I was arguing with myself. Again.

_Of course you're crazy. Wait...You didn't know that? Man, you really _are _as dumb as you look_.

You know what I didn't understand? Why my inner voice insisted on insulting my intelligence all of the time. I mean, you'd think because we were the same person my inner voice would be nice right? Wrong.

"-how much?" I heard the boy ask his green eyes glittering. I hadn't even been listening. Racetracks eyes flashed.

"Now youse listen ta mese Ice, she's heah ta see Spot, an' I'se won't have youse insultin' da lady by-" The other boy, Ice, cut Racetrack off with a dark chuckle.

"Lady? Youse must be losin' yoah mind Higgins. She ain't no lady." He turned to me. "So, hows would youse like ta come wit mese? Huh? I'll pay youse double foah wut Spot woulda payed youse." Ice leered at me. He was actually sending my creep-meter way off. Now let me explain something. If this boy had seen my face he wouldn't be talking the way he was now. He'd know that I was a Conlon. I blinked slowly at him.

"I'll give you one chance to step away from me, and leave." I said in a calm voice, my mouth turning up at the corners. Laughter erupted from where the boy stood.

"Did'ja heah dat Higgins? She'll give me one chance! Ha. Where'dija fiond dis one eh? Spunky. I like dat." He laughed at me. I had been described as many things throughout my life; short-tempered, cold, arrogant...But never in my whole entire life had I been called _spunky. _I didn't like it. Not at all. "I'se can promise youse dat youse'll feel pleasure toots." He murmured his voice coming closer to my ear. I didn't say anything. I just started grinning. He took this as encouragement. With his next words I started seeing red. "I'se'll tell youse wut; I'se can't wait to feel wut-" That was the last thing I heard before a ginormous _SPLASH! _Echoed around the dock. After that all was quiet. I blinked my eyes and looked around. I realized that I had Spot's cane, _my _cane now, in my right hand, and a certain irritating newsboy was missing. I glanced to the side as I heard splashing. There floundering around in the East River, was the newsboy named Ice. As soon as I saw the shocked expression on his face I knew what had happened. I had done it again.

Damn. Sometimes when I got really angry I'd...Black out. And before I knew it...I'd do something I didn't know I was doing. If that even makes sense. I don't even remember pushing Ice into the river. Hell, he annoyed me so much that, apparently, I didn't even want to _touch _him. I had used the cane to shove him in. Slowly I put my cane into the purse I was carrying. I was dangerous with a weapon. Every Conlon was.

"Ya jus' pushed...A Brooklyn newsie into da rivah..." Racetrack stared at me in surprise. "Spot's gunna kill ya! No one touches his newsies unless he says so..." He shook his head. I shrugged as I turned toward the end of the dock again.

"I don't care. I'm a Conlon. We aren't afraid of anyone…Even our own relatives." I started walking again. When Racetrack and I reached the end of the dock a boy with blond hair in a cabbie's hat spoke up.

"Uh...Spot? Race is heah...And he brought a goil..." The newsie trailed off while staring at me...Or really, my clothes. I really needed to change soon. As soon as the Brooklyn newsie said this I heard a thump as someone landed on the ground in front of me.

"Heya Spot. How goes it?" Racetrack asked as I saw him spit into his hand and hold it out. Since the cabbies' hat I had on obstructed some of my vision I only saw Spot Conlon's hand reach out slowly, cautiously, and shake Racetrack's.

"I'm fione. But, it looks like youse braught some trouble wit youse Race." His voice made me start. He sounded exactly like my father...Which was way beyond creepy. "Seems like she trew one of me best biodies in da rivah. Youse can't expect me ta see dat and not do anyting about it." Spot said calmly. "Wut's her name?" He asked. And that's what set me off. He asked the question as if I wasn't even there. It pissed me off. (Remember I have an amazingly short-temper...)

"Militia." I said through gritted teeth, "And there isn't anything to _do _about it. He was practically trying to rape me. I was merely defending myself, and showing him who held the power." I added.

"She doesn't have an accent. Wheah is she frem Race?" He asked, ignoring me completely. Why that freakin' arrogant s-...That was it. He was _my _ancestor. He was like me. I knew how his mind worked. Before Racetrack could respond, I cut him off.

"Hey. Do you know where the person is I came here to see?" I asked letting my voice sound bored. "Heard he was a…Well, that he was an arrogant S.O.B. Where is he?" I asked Racetrack. There were a couple beats of silence.

"Ya know…I'se ain't nevah had ta hit a goil befoah, but youse is gettin' closah ta bein' da foist." I heard Spot say. I started to smirk.

"Oh, are you finally speaking to me? Directly?" I let a fake shocked gasp escape my lips.

A couple more beats of silence. "I'se sawry Spot…She doesn't know wut she's doin'"

"Oh, but I know exactly what I'm doing…" I purred as my signature smirk settled upon my face.

"Who awr youse really?" Spot asked. I chuckled.

"I'm Conlon….Militia Conlon." I slid the hat off my head and let my hair fall to my waist. Silence as I finally got a good look at my…Whatever-he-was-to-me. Wow. Even more creepy. He looks like Slip. Only…A little older…Slip was only thirteen. So…

If Spot was shocked that I looked almost identical to him he hid it well.

"Well…Looks like wese gots some talkin' ta do." He said his face expressionless.

Damn straight.

**A/n: Okay I am so so so so so sorry that I have failed to update this story for you for…Almost a year…Yeah. Sorry. I BEG FOR ****ALL**** OF MY READERS' FORGIVENESS! –grovels- I've just had…Summer school…Yes…Spanish 1. I am finally going into high school my peeps. I am officially…F-R-E-S-H-M-E-A-T. Haha. Yeah. Anyways press the green button…REVIEW ****AND**** MAKE MY ****DAY****! Oh…And also…A thousand apologies for the shortness! **

**XOXO**** EmiShae**


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